IOU Moonlight Float...

By, Sara Hollerich

I had never been on a moonlight float before and I had been looking forward to this opportunity for several weeks. I had wanted to give it a try ever since I got my boat last summer. I checked and double checked my gear to make sure I had everything I needed. Lifejacket, first aid kit, flashlight, glow in the dark sticks, food, etc, as far as I could tell I had everything. I loaded Brody in my car and drove over to pick up Stacey. She too was excited to have her new boat out on this excursion.

A quick stop at Target to pick up the rest of our crew and we were ready to go. When we arrived in Adel at the park where we were to put in, it was buzzing with activity. I had been to a CIP or Central Iowa Paddlers event before but there weren’t nearly this many people. We had decided to do the combined CIP/IOU float when the group we were going to tag with cancelled their float. It was a lot of fun to meet so many new people.

I had to laugh as we pulled out of the parking lot to do the shuttle. There were about 15 cars, we had a regular convoy heading to the exit landing. It was even funnier when we thought the road was closed going to the landing and everyone pulled over to the side of the road to figure out what to do now. We did a massive U turn and headed down the road anyhow. The landing was so small I was impressed that everyone could fit.

With the shuttle done we started our journey. There were so many people to talk to and we had so much fun. My dog Brody made friends with Alexis and Cinder (a cute little eight week old border collie). One woman, Cinders mom, even told an amazing story about her last boat. Apparently she had been kayaking in a small pond when all the sudden a loud noise went off and her boat sunk. She struggled to find her puppy, lifejacket and other gear. When she hauled her boat out of the water there was a huge hole in the hull. The only thing she could think of was that a tree or branch was under pressure under the water and when her boat passed over the top it was released and hit her boat so hard it caused a huge hole in the hull.

The float was very relaxing and we paddled for quite some time before stopping to relax on a sandbar. We let everyone catch-up. We swam, played fetch with the dog and got to know each other better. Once everyone caught up we continued down river for a little while then stopped for supper on a sandbar. Some people were going to be camping there and it was a very nice area. We collected wood for a fire, pulled a couple of boats up on shore, cleaned off the bottom and spread out of food. Everyone enjoy the smorgasbord we created while we waited for the fire to burn down a bit so we could cook our dinners.

Cooking with IOU on a campout or paddle is always fun. We love to go all out and make gourmet food. There was salmon, stake and pasta, of course, there was wine as well. It was all very good and I ate way too much, I felt like I was going to explode.

It was about 11:30 by the time the moon peaked over the trees near the river. Those of us who were heading home that night packed up and hit the river. It was exciting and a very peaceful experience for me to be on the lazy river after the moon had risen. It was a little bit hard to see but it was a lot of fun and way to short. Soon we saw the glowsticks that harolded our approach to the exit site. It only took us about ½ an hour reach the take out. I was a little bit disappointed but tired. It was late but I wasn't ready to be done. Some of us joked about paddling back up river to scare the paddlers who were camping on the sandbar, but we decided to hit the road.